UBS handbook says, “The two nouns in Hebrew[ 7] have a
rather general meaning, and it is probably unnecessary to try
to make a careful distinction between them. … Rather the
two are to be taken together.” 8 If the two can both be used
as general terms that may be ‘taken together’, then the terms
cannot be speaking about two radically different types of
time, as Dembski’s argument requires.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1 LXX reads:“Τοῖς πᾶσιν χρόνος, καὶ καιρὸς τῷ παντὶ πράγματι ὑπὸοὐρανόν.”[For everything there is a time, and a right timeforevery matter under heaven.]The Hebrew uses parallelism, as Hebrew poetry andwisdom literature commonly do. Regarding the underlyingHebrew and the LXX translation, Keil and Delitzsch state:“The Greeks were guided by the right feelingwhen they rendered ןמז by χρόνος, and תע by καιρός.Olympiodorus distinguishes too sharply when heunderstands the former of duration of time, and thelatter of a point of time; while the state of the matter isthis, that by χρόνος the idea comprehends the terminia quo and ad quem, while by καιρός it is limited to theterminus a quo.” 9

So, we see that while there is distinction in the meaning
of kairos and chronos, they are close enough in meaning
that the two terms can be used to meaningfully translate
Hebrew parallelism, which would, by definition, require an
overlapping semantic range.

Another instance supporting the overlapping semantic
range of chronos and kairos in the LXX: the girls’ ‘turn’ to
go in to Artaxerxes is translated with chronos in Esther 2: 12
LXX, but with kairos in Esther 2: 15. The original Hebrew
in both verses uses the word ‘tor’.

Chronos and kairos in the New Testament

When we look at the usage of chronos and kairos in
the New Testament, we see that while the two words can
be generally distinguished from each other, there is still a
substantial overlap in the semantic range. And, importantly,
there is no hint of a special ‘God’s time’ that can subvert the
order of cause and effect.

Chronos in the NT

As with many generic words, chronos has a wide semantic
range when modified with other terms (these phrases are
included in brackets in table 1). Luke/Acts has both the
most uses of chronos and the widest range of meaning for
chronos, perhaps indicating Luke’s particular emphasis on
timing of events.

Some significant usages stand out that challenge the
distinction between chronos and kairos. In Acts 7: 17,
Luke speaks of “the time of the promise” [ho chronos tēs
epangelias]. If kairos were the exclusive word to speak of
‘God’s timing’, we might expect Luke to use ho kairos tēs
epangelias.

If chronos were used in reference to the time of creation,
we would expect something along the lines of chronois
aiōniois; however, that would not be entirely appropriate,
because it talks of long ages past (i.e. the ages before the
coming of Christ) or before creation existed.

Kairosin the NT

Generally speaking, kairos is chosen when speaking
about the suitable or proper time for something to happen.
It can speak of seasons or harvest time, or the eschatological
future time of Christ’s return and the judgment of the world.
But this should not be taken to suggest that kairos is some
otherworldly notion of ‘God’s time’. Kairos is a concept that
has substantial overlap with chronos; it can be used to speak
of the timing of a particular event without overt reference
to its theological import. In Luke 1: 20, “the day when these
things take place” is equated with “fulfilled in their proper
time [kairos]”. Hence, kairos can refer to a particular day in a
human’s conception of time. Perhaps even more problematic
for the interpretation that kairos must always refer to an
opportune moment or ‘God’s timing’, it can be used to
mean ‘at all times’, which would seem to be close to the
categorical opposite.

Furthermore, nowhere is kairos used to mean ‘God’s
time’. Both chronos and kairos refer to events happening on
an earthly timeline, apart from, arguably, chronos aiōnios.

Chronosand kairostogether in the NT

Chronos and kairos appear together in contexts thatclosely match their usage in the LXX. Acts 1: 7 reads:“εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς, Οὐχ ὑμῶν ἐστιν γνῶσαι χρόνουςἢ καιροὺς οὓς ὁ πατὴρ ἔθετο ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ,”[He said to them, “It is not for you to know times orseasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”]In a similar usage, 1 Thessalonians 5: 1 reads“Περὶ δὲ τῶν χρόνων καὶ τῶν καιρῶν, ἀδελφοί, οὐχρείαν ἔχετε ὑμῖν γράφεσθαι.”[Now concerning the times and the seasons,brothers, you have no need to have anything writtento you.]While some attempt to differentiate the usage of theterms in this context, most commentators see that by thistime the terms had come to be used together in a synonymousmanner. 12 As such, it supports the overlap of semantic domain,rather than radical distinction between the two terms.